U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz rejected Iran’s explanation that an “errant part” of the regime was responsible for the recent strike on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Well, look, is the Iranian regime just completely out of control? … Who are we ultimately negotiating with? And if that is to be believed, then where is the discipline? I mean, this is a regime that massacred 40,000 people in the street for daring to protest,” Mr. Waltz said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
When asked if he was referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, he said, “Hanging young people and athletes … we’re supposed to believe that some junior officers are going rogue and firing on ships, but yet face no consequences from a dictatorial hierarchy-based entity like the IRGC.”
“I don’t buy it,” Mr. Waltz said. “I don’t think we buy it. And at the end of the day, where’s the discipline and the public apology if that’s the case? And that’s simply what the president and his team asked for.”
Mr. Waltz noted that more attacks happened “and now, you’re going to get a response.”
U.S. Central Command on Sunday accused Iran of attacking a Cypriot-flagged vessel in the strait and launched retaliatory attacks on more than 140 targets. Iran confirmed that it struck a vessel in the waterway, which it said was transiting illegally, and launched attacks on U.S. military installations in the Persian Gulf in response.
The latest attacks cap off a week of escalations in the U.S.-Iran war centered around control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Last week, Iran launched attacks on tanker ships traveling in Omani waters through the strait, prompting U.S. strikes on military targets along Iran’s coastline. The strikes were intended to diminish Iran’s ability to impede commercial shipping in regional waters, CENTCOM said.
• Vaughn Cockayne contributed to this report.
